Overkill by Ted Bell

This is a very current book.   It has references right out of the headlines.  It is loaded with action and includes a smattering of sex.   Lots of high tech stuff, submarines, tanks, trains, fancy cars and weapons galore.  I really expected to like this book after having read previous Ted Bell books.  

Sadly I was very lukewarm about this book.  It was a lot of flash and glam but very little substance.   The characters were so bold as to be comic.   It came across as a tongue in cheek action book rather than an actual action book. 

Vladimir Putin finds himself on the outs with the oligarchs.  He needs large cash infusions to regain power.   Alex Hawke, the main protagonist, has thwarted Putin in the past so Putin puts a scheme into play to keep Hawke at bay.

There are a lot of colorful characters and predictable action.  The most interesting part of the book were the Swiss bunkers one of which was Putin’s hideout.   I was unaware of the warren of bunkers the Swiss have throughout their country.  I Googled it and found it very interesting, sadly more so than the book.

I hope the quality of this book is merely a hiccup in a string of Bell books I have enjoyed.  There were times it was repetitious and other times where it just wasn’t tight.  Overall the plot was acceptable but for me the book was just average when I have come to expect above average from Bell.  Keep in mind this was an uncorrected proof and that could have a bearing on the repetition and the tightness of the prose.   This may easily move up to four or five stars upon release.

Web: https://www.tedbell.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.